“Portugal Has Been Discovered, Now What?” is the Motto of the Portuguese Hotel Industry’s Conference

14 November 2017

The motto of the 29th National Congress of the Portuguese Hotel Industry, held in Coimbra, is “Portugal Has Been Discovered, Now What?”

The question “Portugal Has Been Discovered, Now What?” is the motto for the 29th National Congress of the Portuguese Hotel Industry, which runs from Wednesday to Friday in Coimbra, and will reunite discussions on the impacts of the growth of tourism in the country.

The conference’s program as defined by the Portuguese Hotel Industry Association (AHP) will also include other issues such as growth without losing identity, airport management in the context of growth and new trends in accommodation, technology and management.

Doug Lansky, the North American author of articles and books on tourism, will oversee the so-called zero-day – Wednesday – reflecting on changes in the way of thinking about hospitality, while the next day will begin with a speech by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, on Tourism and the Regions of Europe.

A roundtable will also be held on the European project and the development of decentralised tourism, with the participation of Márcio Favilla, representing the World Tourism Organization, and the Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho.

The executive president of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, Carlos Lacerda, and leaders of TAP, easyJet and Melair (travel agency and tour operator representative) will participate in the discussion on the challenges of air transport.

The Deputy Director of Tourism of Barcelona, Albert de Gregorio will chair the panel on growth without loss of identity.

The day will also include reflections on the development of human capital, with the participation of the President of Turismo de Portugal, Luís Araújo.

The last day will begin with a debate on prices, followed by a discussion on the new trends in accommodation, with a focus on various models such as hotels, hostels and houses.

The president of the AHP, Raul Martins, has already stressed the importance of the hotel sector taking the lead “in this reflection, principally because it is the sector with the clearest interest in maintaining the sustainable growth of tourism.” “It is important to find a model that will permit us to monitor the volume of tourists versus accommodation capacity versus residential housing capacity versus infrastructure capacity, namely transportation, airport, security, urban sanitation,” he said.

The official argued that the data would be used in strategic planning vis-à-vis tourism, which is something that already happens in “several European cities, but that hasn’t yet reached Portugal.”

AHP is the most significant employer association in the hotel industry, whose members represent more than 60% of the total number of rooms of the Portuguese hotel industry.

Original Story: Expresso – Dinheiro Vivo / Lusa – D. Luis.

Photo: Leonel de Castro / Global Imagens

Translation: Richard Turner